Mmmm.... Hashbrowns......

We've restarted the blog roll, so I'm going to pretend to blog again for awhile ;)

What's the farthest you have traveled for food? Did you fly across the country just so you could have the perfect bowl of clam chowder? Did you cross the state line just for a scoop of ice cream? What was it, how far did you travel, and was it worth it?

I have a good friend named Sonia, and she tends to be infectious - spend enough time with Sonia, and you start to see the world her way (I would like to warn my readers that extended Sonia exposure may lead to a weaker and weaker grasp of reality as Soniavision takes over). One of the most fascinating parts of seeing the world through Sonia's eyes is how much everything shrinks. Enjoyed that Jerry Cantrell show in Chicago? There's one in New Orleans in a couple weeks, it's just a short drive.....

I lived with Sonia for awhile in my late teens, and we did a lot of traveling. Most of our traveling had some purpose, but we also made a lot of really ridiculous trips. In many ways, they were the best ones. We drove from Chicago to Minneapolis to go to the Mall of America so we could visit Hot Topic. Seven hours to the largest mall in the country, and we visited one store. I did find a cool Rainbow Brite shirt. Luckily, there are now a number of Hot Topic stores in Chicago.

We drove to Long Grove, a distant suburb, for apple donuts (note to self - visit Long Grove this fall, now that you have a car!), and to Michigan three or four times for pancakes. But the longest we ever traveled for food was one bored New Years Eve night, when we decided we needed Waffle House, and we needed it NOW. Unfortunately, the closest Waffle House to Chicago is about 300 miles away. And Alex, who was also living with us at the time, had to work in the morning.

So, like the responsible adults we were, we managed to convince Alex to trust us, piled in the car, and headed to St. Louis. Not only was our breakfast delicious, but we made our waitress's day when we told her we drove in just for Waffle House. We raced back to the car, back to the city, and dropped Alex off at work with 13 minutes to spare.

I haven't had Waffle House in almost six years now (for the record, the one in Key Largo is not as good. Or maybe their grilled cheese just can't compete with their breakfasts). I wonder if Alex is up for a trip to St. Louis...